Weekly Letter: A Pain Series (Part 1)

*Weekly Letter is the letter I include in my weekly yoga studio newsletter.*

A Series on Pain: Part 1

I went to the doctor for a pain I’ve been having in my wrist. It turns out to be a ganglion cyst and not that big of a deal, but as a precaution, he took an X-ray to check for arthritis.

After, we sat down and he told me about my options and how the cyst might play out in the future. Something he said stuck with me and I find my mind coming back to it.

He said, ‘the pain you feel isn’t causing you harm.’

As yoga teachers, we’re encouraged to keep students out of painful spaces, but there is even some conversation about discomfort in practice that’s safe. Swami Sivananda has a poem called, ‘I am Pain, Thy Teacher,’ which plainly discloses how pain is a friend. I have had students get upset with me because I have introduced the idea of discomfort as a part of yoga shattering their ‘spa-like’ idea of what yoga should be. Yoga itself is marketed as instant peace, among other things.

To all of our detriment, we live in a society which glorifies 24/7 happiness and stigmatizes pain. Equating poverty with pain and pills with solutions.

Upon writing the first draft of this, I started to segment out different experiences I’ve had with pain and students. It became increasingly clear how pain shows up differently and I’d like to spend the next few weeks examining these different avenues. My hope is this conversation may garner a different level of sensitivity within you, the reader. Maybe it informs your practice, maybe it helps you be more sensitive to others, maybe it creates language you’ve never considered before.

Thank you in advance for considering these ideas,

~Carmen

Weekly Letter: A Farmer's Meditation

 *Weekly Letter is the letter I include in my weekly yoga studio newsletter.*

Early in my relationship with Levi, we found ourselves in this cyclical argument we couldn’t find our way out of. Any source of tension at the time would be a catalyst for the same fight and it was wearing us out.

At the time, I was working on the farm. Driving over one day, I thought about my grandparent’s relationship. They were solid to each other up until we lost my grandpa in 89. Grandma and Grandpa were well known for the strength of their bond and had sweet, but practical rules Levi and I often say back and forth to each other.

This day on the farm, I knew the plan was to mow all day. If you have ever worked or lived on a farm, you understand how much mowing there is to do. I get to Grandma’s house and proceed to mow for hours at the same time chewing over this argument trying to find a way to move on from it.

I remember what pasture I was working when the solution occurred to me. And as I finished the plot and ended my day, I went back in to visit with Grandma before heading home.

“Grandma,” I say as I enter the living room, “I know why you and Grandpa never fought. Levi and I had an issue and I sorted it out while I mowed!”

Grandma starts nodding gently looking out the sliding glass door, “Yup, and some days I had to do a LOT of mowing.”

Contemplation isn’t always done seated. Consider some of those places you can be alone with your thoughts as nurturing spaces (a mower, a run/walk, etc).